Saturday, October 15, 2005

Chocolate Bread Pudding With Spiced Cream

My sister-in-law, Niki, sent this recipe along. I think I confused her when I said it tasted like a soggy good brownie; I meant that "soggy" as a description, not a slam. (I still haven't come up with a better way to put it because "moist" doesn't even begin to come close, and yet "soggy" sounds, well, wrong.)

For the pudding, you will need:
1 tsp unsalted butter
2 cups half and half
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, about 1 pound
4 large eggs
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinammon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
8 slices day old white bread (or just store bought sliced white bread), crusts removed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 4 cups).

Preheat the oven to 350ยบ F. Grease a 6 cup loaf pan with butter.
Heat the half and half in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it comes up to a gentle boil, whisk in 1 cup of the chocolate chips, whisking constantly unil the chips have melted and are incorporated into the cream. Remove from heat.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and Grand Marnier together in a large mixing bowl until very smooth. Add the egg mixture to the cream mixture and mix well.
Add the bread, incorporate thoroughly and let the mixture sit out for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour half the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate chips. Pour the remaining bread mixture over the chocolate chips.
Bake until the pudding is set in the center, about 55 minutes.
Let cool for 5 minutes.
To serve, cut the pudding into 1 inch thick slices. Top with spiced cream.

Spiced Cream
1 quart heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Beat the cream with an electric mixer on high speed in a large mixing bowl for about 2 minutes. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and beat again until the mixutre thickens and forms stiff peaks, another 1-2 minutes.

No comments: